As we near the end of 2011, a lot of you have been working hard on a 365 project. What is a 365 project? Well, it’s a practice in dedication to take a photograph each day for a year. It’s not an easy task. However, we have met some great members who have not only done it, but have blogged it and put it in Adoramapix Photo Books. Here is Pixel’s story. Pixel started with a Project 52 (a photo a week) and then she progressed to one a day and blogged about it. You can check out her blog HERE. We asked her a few questions about her project.

First we asked her, How did you do it? She answered, “Easy answer, I love photography! So having a project365 based on photography was the easy part. I actually never got stuck this year. I looked forward to posting. My blog was not based on any one theme, so it made it easier. I didn’t do any set ups. I just did what I’ve always done and that was take photos.”

We then asked, Did you ever hit a wall with creativity? Her answer, “Did I ever get stuck? Nope, not at all because I found out that even though it began as a place to show my photography…. It was so much more than that – it was about my voice. I found a way to relate whatever photo I chose to an event, to a feeling, to a desire, to a dream and I shared it with whomever decided to read. So NO, I never got stuck.”

Pixel’s project started to get noticed when she started a blog. She then set up links to her @Dpixel account and that’s when she really started to get noticed. I asked her, How did it progress? He replied, “What I didn’t realise, was people were beginning to notice and to read what I wrote. Living in New York city, we take for granted our city and not realise how intriguing it is to the “outside world”. I also wrote about parenting and it surprised me by the inbox messages I received thank yous and asking for advice. I wrote about my everyday life – our amazing dinners, the wines we tried, the trips we took, being at the lake house. I photographed my cat. I tried different lenses and different perspective. It became a personal journal, but it was a relatable one.”

Any regrets Pixel? She answered, “Yes, that I didn’t organize my photos in such a way that I could have made a photo album at the end of the year. I would have to go through each post.” (I think Adoramapix can help with THIS!)

Any advice? She replied, ” Many people get stuck because they begin a Project365 and it becomes more of a chore. It may help that you DON’T stick to a theme, or that you must ONLY post your BEST photo. Quite a few of my photography friends fell into this. I remember saying to them to “own your photo”. Just remember, that Project365 are not only about photos, there’s many different things you can do. Think about end before beginning and guess what??? It’s OKAY to change themes or ideas in the middle of it all.. It is afterall YOUR PROJECT365, so own it. So that’s my story.. The world got to know Pixel through my 365.”

Thank you Pixel your work and dedication to the project are inspiring.

Congratulations – you did it! You took a picture every day in the year 2011 with Project 365. You were determined, you were motivated, you were disciplined with your craft. Whew — you’re done. What? No! For those of you who took on this project, I envy you. You made a habit of documenting the world around you for 365 days, rain or shine in sickness and in health. Now it’s time to preserve your memories with an AdoramaPix photo book. Yes, we do have a template that would be perfect for your project. Within our PixPublisher, you will find a lot of different themes. The best theme to suit this project is a 76 page Collage. The theme is perfect because it can host all of your images from your project. It has different sizes and orientations to suit whatever subjects you covered last year. All of that hard work and discipline can be showcased for generations. So don’t procrastinate and let those images sit on your hard drive or phone – give them a home in 2012. You can order our photo books HERE.

It’s a new year and we kick off the Member of the Week with the amazingly talented Adam Mooshian of Adam Mooshian Photography : www.adammoosh.com .

His work is breathtaking, and I asked him how he got started photographing horses. He replied, ” It all began in 2003 when a horse named Funny Cide won the Kentucky Derby and I thought he was just the coolest. I followed racing for many years before finally in 2008, I picked up a and decided I was going to start taking pictures of horses… knowing absolutely nothing about either. I showed up at our local race track and began taking “pictures.” After about three weeks of arguing with the , I began to figure out what I was doing. From there, I just kept learning what not to do to get the images I actually wanted!”

He has found his niche with photographing animals especially horses at the racetracks. This is where he gets his inspiration from..the horses themselves. He said, “They are such amazing animals with so much to offer. They are like humans, they have their own personalities and quirks. Some are goofy, some are shy, some love the , some love to stir up trouble. I mainly photograph thoroughbred racehorses. I often tell people I go to photograph the races but leave with a lesson. Some horses appear defeated, only to come back to win more determined than ever. Some appear so far out of it they have no shot only to win by a nose at the finish, and some are hard knocking and try hard but never get any credit or recognition. You can take a life lesson from them, if only you open yourself up to the idea of relating yourself to them!”

I asked him if he could give himself one piece of advice to himself when he was just starting out.. what would it be? He replied, “If I could give myself one piece of advice it would be not to get so down on myself about missing a shot or failing to capture it the way I wanted. At the time, it is a terrible feeling, but from it you learn how not to make the same mistake again. For every amazing shot you feel you may miss, think of the shot that you will get as a result of it. Failure is only true if you believe it!”

So Adam, What’s in your bag? He answered, “My camera bag has too much stuff in it. I often abandon it the first chance I get and travel around like a wild man with things hanging off of me. I have the standard, boring things that every photographer carries and a few little mementos that people have given me along the way. I carry a Koala Bear with a boomerang and take his picture wherever I go (a photographer I met from, you guessed it, Australia gave it to me. He is a traveling Koloa Bear!) I also have the first credential I was ever given three years ago to remind myself of where I came from. Hmm, what else… oh, cant forget the most important one… chocolate! When all else fails, chocolate is always the answer, don’t leave home without it. Yeah, I clearly have my priorities in order.”

Thank you Adam, your work is amazing and beautiful. You can see more of his work on his website www.adammoosh.com. (BTW if you are wondering, yes this young gun is only 25-years-old!)

We are now officially into the new year of 2012! We know that many of our members are just now starting to get busy for their Boudoir Season with Valentine’s Day and lots of engagements happening within the next month. We have exquisite photo books and templates for boudoir. Why is an Adoramapix photo book so important especially for Boudoir? We do not cut your photos! Our lay-flat pages and true archival paper will leave your artistic images in tact. Want to learn more about how to make the best boudoir book for your client? Join us for our free webinar this Sunday, January 15th at 9pm EST. You can register HERE.

We wanted to know what it takes to be a successful Boudoir Photographer. So we asked an expert, Kim Mallory of The Beautiful Woman Project the secret to her success. She lives in a smaller town, but is able to make big sales. She gave us 5 very helpful tips.

Top Five Tips for Shooting Boudoir:

1. PREPARE YOUR CLIENT: We send our clients information about what to expect and how to prepare. It lists some style icons that match various body types to look to for inspiration, we also list our favorite places to go for lingerie. We suggest that nails are manicured, unwanted facial hair is removed and tanning is kept to a minimum. We also ask our girls to bring a selection of lingerie, shoes and accessories, at least 3 outfits so we can pick and choose and match them to our sets.

2. CREATE AN EXPERIENCE: It’s all about the experience and being pampered is a huge part of the excitement! We have a private boudoir dressing room for our clients where we offer in studio make-overs. Wine and lattes are served and the environment is warm and inviting with soft music and a romantic scent in the air. Our studio is private and relaxing.

3. DURING THE SHOOT Keep it fresh! Stay inspired and be excited about every session you do. Let your client know that you are super stoked to be shooting her and as the ideas are popping into your head verbalize those to her. I have a selection of props and accessories at the studio & there is always an outfit that can be accessorized! I make a big deal out of this and start adding accessories & props to create my vision. You are an artist first and foremost so let that shine throughout your session.

4. SHOOT TO SELL When I’m shooting, I’m thinking about the poses that sell and the album that I’m going to create. I’m also preparing my client for her ordering session by asking her what she wants to do with her images and how she is going to freak out when she sees them. I also warn her that she is not going to be able to choose! She looks amazing and she’s going to want them all! I’ll show my client an image on the back of my camera that I love to prove my point and this is a great time to get that shot where she is smiling and laughing in disbelief when she sees herself through my lens.

5. CREATE QUALITY PRODUCTS Part of my job is ensuring that the experience lasts to the very end. They have had an amazing time up to this point so we are going to continue on with inviting our client back for a viewing session. Edit & show the best of the best and make sure you have some high end quality products to compliment her gorgeous images. Help your client through the ordering process by offering your expertise in wall displays and album images and make the process easy and stress free by giving your expert opinion.

Thank you Kim!

Kim lives and works in Chilliwack, British Columbia in Canada. She is married and raises 2 daughters along with a cat that thinks its is a monkey. You can see more of Kim’s beautiful work HERE.

Again, feel free to join us for our FREE webinar this Sunday, January 15th at 9pm EST. You can register for the webinar HERE. If you are already to go with your boudoir photo book then you can just go HERE.

A new year means new photo book templates. We are excited to release three new themes and add them to our growing library of rich and beautiful templates.

First, did you get pictures of your children opening their presents? Or did you get a fantastic snapshot of that great looking spread you put on for the whole family? You did ? Great! Now you need to preserve them with our beautiful, new photo book theme called Silent Night. You can find this template under holiday. With light and cool colors, it’s sure to showcase your holiday memories beautifully and for a lifetime.

For those of you building wedding photo books — we have the tale of two very different weddings. First — are you a city bride? Great ,we have perfect template for you. In our new city wedding template, you’ll find bold, dramatic graphics to compliment your urban wedding.

Not a city bride — but more of a beach bride? No problem we have you covered there too! Check out our new seashore wedding template. It features cool colors and pops of coral designs to give it a touch of color. Both of these themes can be found under the wedding category.

Our unique binding system allows every page spread to lay flat without any gutter or unsightly seam to separate your pages. This means no cuts to your photographs! This system combines beautiful presentation with incredible durability. Ready to order? Perfect you can click HERE to begin the easy and intuitive process of building your beautiful, hand-crafted Adoramapix photo book that is designed to give you a lifetime of memories for you and future generations.

Webinar Schedule

No matter your skill level, everyone has questions at one time or another. These open sessions are provided so AdoramaPix customers can ask any questions regarding PixPublisher or AdoramaPix photo books. If you’re wondering how to do something, let a live instructor show you how

Our FREE PixPublisher software can be used by amateurs and professionals alike to create stunning photo books that showcase your pictures beautifully. During this beginner level class we help you get started with PixPublisher by showing you how to create a book from start to finish.